Heat-cleaning range construction

ABSTRACT

A venting structure for a domestic range having a heat-cleaning oven wherein maximum cooling room air flow maintains reduced range cabinet surface temperatures during a heat-cleaning cycle. An oven liner is cantilevered from the front wall of the range and separated therefrom by a stainless steel throat member positioned around the oven liner access opening. Air channel means are provided to vent heated air from a vertical air passageway in the oven door to a plenum chamber beneath the range cooktop for exhausting via the surface heating units or back panel vents.

UHHQ Bracken States Patent [191 [451 Jan. 1,1974

1 HEAT-CLEANING RANGE CONSTRUCTION [75] Inventor: Byron L. Brucken,Dayton, Ohio [73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation,

Detroit, Mich.

22 Filed: Nov. 20, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 308,027

[52] US. Cl. 126/19 R, 126/198, 126/273 R [51] Int. Cl. F24c 15/16 [58]Field of Search 126/19, 21, 39 C,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1948 Buhman et a1 126/198X 2,889,825 6/1959 Evans 7. 126/198 3,509,868 5/1970 Mono 126/198Primary Examiner-Edward G. Favors Attorney-William S. Pettigrew et a1.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A venting structure for a domestic range having aheat-cleaning oven wherein maximum cooling room air flow maintainsreduced range cabinet surface temperatures during a heat-cleaning cycle.An oven liner is cantilevered from the front wall of the range andseparated therefrom by a stainless steel throat member positioned aroundthe oven liner access opening. Air channel means are provided to ventheated air from a vertical air passageway in the oven door to a plenumchamber beneath the range cooktop for exhausting via the surface heatingunits or back panel vents.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTE JM 1 Lam SHEEI 1 BF 3 HEAT-CLEANINGRANGE CONSTRUCTION This invention relates to a domestic high temperaturerange construction and more particularly to an improved reduced weightfree-standing domestic range incorporating a heat-cleaning oven ventingsystem wherein low outer surface temperatures are attained without theuse of an exhaust fan.

It is an object of this invention to provide a low cost construction fora free-standing reduced weight domestic range having an oven linersupported in a cantilevered manner from the front wall of the range bymeans of a thin sectioned stainless steel throat member positionedaround the access opening of the oven chamber in which an airflowpassageway in the oven door vents to the plenum space beneath the rangecooktop to minimize heat loss to the outer surfaces of the range duringpyrolytic cleaning of the oven.

It is another object of this invention to provide a lightweightfree-standing range including a self cleaning oven allowing the weldlessconstruction of prepainted panels for construction of the range cabinetby means of a reduced surface temperature venting structure includingsealing means between the oven door and the surrounding cabinetry todirect the heated air venting from a passageway in the oven doorrearwardly under the cooktop from which it can exhaust to the atmospherewhereby the exposed surfaces of the range are maintained below apredetermined temperature level without the employment of exhaust fanmeans.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention isclearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side sectional view with parts broken away toshow features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side sectional view of a portion ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary front sectional view taken on the line33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front view taken on the line 4-4 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded isometric view showing the various rangecomponents.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 5 of the drawing wherein an electric rangeis illustrated, the range components include a base member 12, sidepanels 13 and 14, a back panel 15, a cooktop 16, a backguard orbacksplash panel 17, a bottom drawer 18, and an oven assembly 19including an oven door 20. The range in the form shown has four surfaceheating elements 22 removably mounted in the cooktop of a conventionaltype such as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,353,004 issued to Alexander andassigned to the same assignee as the present application.

A control panel assembly generally indicated at 24 is mounted on thefront face of the backsplash panel 17 and is again of a conventionaltype such as, for example, that disclosed in the Alexander patent.Suitable control knobs such as indicated at 26 are provided forcontrolling the surface elements 22. Heating elements are mounted withinthe oven cavity 28 defined by an oven liner 30 of a self-cleaning ovenin the form of a broil heating element 32 carried by a bracket 34 to theliner top wall 35 and a bake heating element 36 at the bottom of theoven supported on the liner bottom wall 37 by a bracket member 38.

As explained in the Alexander patent, accumulated oven soil must bedegraded at a temperature of 750 F. to 950 F. to effect a hightemperature cleaning process consisting of partial oxidation of soil inthe oven with a restricted air supply. To achieve cabinet outer surfacetemperatures that will not exceed 140 F. during the oven cleaning cycle,applicant has designed an oven liner vented support structure in whichthe oven liner 30 is cantilevered from the front wall of the range.

The oven assembly 19 includes insulation retainer means comprised of aback retainer wall 40, side retaining walls, such as 42, on each sidethereof and spaced inwardly from the range side panels 13 and 14, abottom retainer wall 44 and a top wall 46 spaced from the underside ofcooktop 16 to define an air passage 47 therebetween.

The oven forming liner 30, having a finish coating of acid resistantporcelain, is positioned within the insulation retainer walls 40, 42, 44and 46 and spaced therefrom to form a space therebetween for compositeinsulation pad 52 which completely envelops the oven liner 30 except forthe front opening 54 thereof which is closed by the oven door 20hingedly mounted at 58 for opening and closing the oven liner to gainaccess to the oven cavity 28. The composite insulation pad 52 comprisesa plurality of layers 53 which in the disclosed form comprises threemats of glass wool material having a thickness of about five-eighthsinches with four sheets of reflective aluminum foil sandwichedtherebetween as indicated at 55 in FIG. 2 to break the heat convectivepaths to the outer cabinet walls into thirds.

The oven door 20 includes an outer panel 60 and an inner door plug panel62 which carries a fiberglas seal or gasket 63 for sealing the jointurebetween the door plug panel and the oven liner at the front accessopening 54. An insulation retainer panel 66 is disposed between the doorplug panel 62 and the outer door panel 60 to retain composite insulationpad 68 therebetween and to form an airflow passageway 69. The insulationpad 68 is identical to the insulation pad 52. The oven door includes aperipheral frame member 64 provided with inner groove portions 64a, 64bfor securing the respective edges of front panel 60 and forwardlyoff-set flange 65 of door plug panel 62 in spaced relationship to definevertical air passageway 6'9 therebetween. The frame member 641- has itsbight or web portion 67 inner distal end provided with air openings 71for a purpose to be described while the frame element may be formed of asuitable material such as an extruded metal. The door plug panel 62,riveted at 72 to panel 66, has an off-set peripheral flange 65 whichincludes a pattern of staggered elongated upper, lower and side slots74a, 74b and 74c respectively located therein such that approximately 90percent of the material in the defined slotted area is removed or lancedout to allow maximum air flow therethrough for communication withvertical air passageway 69.

Referring now to FIG. 5, which shows the major range components inexploded perspective view, K- shaped base support 12 comprises atransverse floor angle element adapted to be mounted on the flooradjacent the bottom edge of the back panel 15. The transverse L-crosssection angle 80 has its base or wide flange 82 extending forwardly fromits upstanding narrow flange 84 with the upstanding narrow flange havingits end portions lanced and rearwardly bent at right angles theretoforming side panel securing tabs 85 and 86. A pair of diagonal L-crosssection angle braces are adapted to be mounted on the floor so as to besymmetrically positioned about the longitudinal centerline of the rangewith the diagonal angle braces 88 and 90 having their upstanding narrowflanges 91 and 92 lanced to form oblique securing tabs 93 and 94 whichare secured to the transverse angle narrow flange 84 adjacent itsmidpoint such that the diagonal braces 88 and 90 extend forwardly andoutwardly therefrom. The diagonal braces 88 and '90 have their base wideflanges 96 and 97 extending rearwardly from their respective upstandingnarrow flanges 91, 92 with the outer ends thereof being lanced andforwardly bent forming front securing tabs 98 and 99 such that the tabs98 and 99 lie in common vertical planes with the end tabs 85 and 86 ofthe transverse angle element 80.

The right side panel 14 is a mirror image of left side panel 13 andcommon reference numerals are used to refer to corresponding parts.

As seen for the side panel 13 in FIG. 5, its main plate section 102 isreturn bent at the bottom thereof to form bottom or floor flange 103 anda longitudinal return bend flange 104 generally parallel spaced relationto the main plate 102. Spaced apertures 105 in return bend flange 104are 1 adapted to receive fasteners mounted on and extending outwardlyfrom the forward and rear securing tabs 98 and 85, respectively, of theK-shaped base support 12. The end portion of the diagonal angles securedto the transverse floor angle 80 is undercut to allow the wide flanges96, 97 to lie in a common horizontal plane with the wide flange 82. Therange side panels 13 are each provided with forward and rear inwardlydirected vertical flanges 106 and 108 with the forward flange 106rearwardly bent to form vertical return bend trims 109 and 110 separatedby lanced out notch portion 112 dimensioned to accommodate the ovenassembly 19 therein.

The side panels 13 and 14 are secured together by means of upper andlower transverse front stringer elements 120 and 122. The lower stringerelement is in the form of channel member 123 and has its vertical web123 lanced and rearwardly bent to provide lower tabs 124 which abut theside panel vertical trims 109 so as to be mounted therebetween by meansof apertures therein aligned with apertures 126 in the trim flanges 109for receiving fasteners commonly designated at 127 in FIG. 1. As seen inFIG. 5, the upper Z-sectioned stringer 120 has its extremities formedwith rearwardly projecting securing tabs 128 integral with its verticalweb portion 129 for flush abutment with the trim flange 1 which areapertured as indicated at 130 for receiving threaded fasteners commonlydesignated at 131 and 132 in FIG. 1. The Z-section stringer 120 has aninwardly directed leg 133 and outwardly directed leg 134 affixed to acoextensive generally channelsectioned outer front cover panel 140 thathas a decorative external finish such as chrome plate or the like toenclose the upper portion of the range between the cooktop 16 and theoven door 20. The panel 140 has a retroverted top flange 141 formed by apair of hori zontally disposed reverse folds defining a transverselyextending channel for receiving the forward edge of the cooktop 16.

As seen in FIG. 3, the web portion 129 of the Z- section stringer 120includes a series of spaced air inlet slots 142 therein. It will benoted in FIG. 2 that the cover panel 140 is positioned in spacedrelation with the upper stringer to allow heated air moving upwardlywithin door passageway 69, and which exits through the pattern ofslotted upper air openings 74a in the upper portion of off-setperipheral flange 65, to communicate with plenum chamber 47. By means ofpositive convection flow the air moves into upper air flow channel 152thereof defined by the space between the upper portion of the offsetflange 65 and the outer throat flange 172 of oven throat member 170 andan elbow-like duct or baffle 153 formed by the front cover panel and theleg 134 of upper stringer 120. A second sealing means in the form offlexible wiper seal 154 made of suitable resilient material, preferablyof sili cone rubber, is carried in the return bend flange 155 of thepanel 140 to close the gap or space between the bight portion 67 of doorframe 64 and the panel 140. In the range shown a series of slots areformed in the flange 155 for receiving a series of integral securingportions 156 which are snapped within the slots and allow the wipingseal 154 to be readily flexed in opposite directions during opening andclosing of the oven door.

It will be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4 that by virtue of the staggered slottedair openings 74a, 74b and 740 in offset flange 65 a tortuous or indirectconduction heat flow path is presented to minimize heat transfer fromthe panel 62 to the outer surface of the range. In addition the slottedopenings 74b and 740 in the lower and side offset flange 65 allow forroom air to enter through the side and lower spaces between the ovendoor off-set flange 65 and the aligned portions of the cabinet outerthroat flange 172 to place the oven door passageway 69 in maximumcommunication with the atmosphere. Thus, during an oven heat cleaningcycle, airflow in passageway 69 will rise by positive convection flow orchimney effect to maintain the outer panel 60 of the oven door at areduced temperature below 140 F. The air heats as it rises and passesthrough the pattern of slots 74a in offset flange 65 into air channel152 and thence through air flow slots 142 either directly or via theopenings 71 in bight portion 67 of the frame 64. The seal 154 preventsthe escape of the heated air over the front face of panel 140 whereby itis directed rearwardly into the horizontally extending plenum 47 underthe cooktop to a point in back of the range where it can exhaust eitherthrough the various heating element openings 157, 158 or suitableventing means (not shown) in the rear wall of the range.

The oven assembly 19 is mounted between the upper and lower horizontalstringers 120 and 122 and is of a depth so as to be slidably receivedwithin the notched portions 112 of the side panel members 13 and 14. Asbest seen in FIG. 2, the oven top retainer wall 46 is provided with anupwardly directed peripheral flange 160 which is adapted to abut thevertical web section of the upper Z-section stringer 120 and is securedthereto by means of fasteners in the form of screws 162. In a similarmanner the bottom retainer wall 44 has a downwardly directed peripheralflange portion 164 secured to the lower stringer 122 by threadedfasteners (not shown).

The unitary collar or throat member 170, having a generally double-Lcross section, extends entirely around the front of the oven compartmentand is formed preferably of relatively thin section stainless steelwhich in the disclosed form has a thickness in the range of 0.0010 to0.0015 inches. By forming the throat member of thin section stainlesssteel applicant has minimized heat transfer between the oven and theouter surface of the cabinet. As best seen in FIG. 2 the outer L portionof said throat 170 has a vertically extending outer throat flange 172 ofthe collar 170 which is secured to the peripheral flange I60 and theupper stringer 120 by suitable fasteners such as at 162. The inner Lportion of said collar 170 having a vertically extending inner throatflange portion 174 forming an oven door jamb about the oven cavity suchthat the door plug panel peripheral gasket 63 is adapted to abut againstthe throat flange to seal the access opening of the oven compartment. Itwill be noted that the door structure includes a door actuator arm 175pivotally secured to the interface of the door panel by bracket 176while its inner end has a slot 177 for receiving suitable spring biasingmeans. not shown. The thin stainless steel throat 170 has its inwardlydirected flange 178 riveted to the upper wall 35 of the oven cavity asindicated, for example, by rivet 182 in FIG. 2.

It will be noted in FIG. 5 that the back panel included an inwardlydirected support flange 186 which underlies the bottom retainer wall 44and is secured thereto by suitable fasteners 187 to support the ovenassembly 19 while the oven liner 30 is supported in cantilevered fashionby throat element 170 in conjunction with the composite insulation 52positioned between the retainer walls and the liner.

To accommodate the smoke and products of com bustion from either an ovencooking operation or an oven cleaning operation a catalytic oxidizingunit 190 is positioned below liner top wall 35 to receive the exhaustfrom the oven chamber 28. More particularly the catalytic oxidizing unit190 is comprised of a peripheral housing 191 having an inlet screenedbottom cover 192 in communication with the chamber 28 and an outletscreened top cover 193 in communication with the atmosphere via the duct19 4 extending through the liner back wall 39 and the retainer wall 40.Catalyst beads 195 such as disclosed in US. Pat. no. 3,553,425 issuedJan. 5, 1971 to Millard E. Fry, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein, are located in the housing 191 to catalyticallyalter the smoke exiting from the oven. The unit 190 is in contact withupper heating element 32 which heats the catalyst beads 195 during theheat cleaning cycle.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted.

1 claim:

1. A domestic range having a heat-cleaning oven with an oven cavityformed by a box-like oven liner and an oven door, a box-like insulationretainer inner cabinet surrounding said oven liner and spaced therefrom,insulation in the space between said oven liner and said inner cabinetsurrounding said oven liner, a unitary stainless steel throat memberextending around the access opening of said oven cavity having adouble-L cross section, the inner L portion of said throat member havinga vertically extending inner throat flange providing an oven door jamb,the outer L portion of said throat member having a vertically extendingouter throat flange, an outer cabinet covering said inner cabinet andspaced therefrom including a cooktop supporting a plurality of surfaceheating units above aligned openings therein, the space between saidcooittop and the horizontally extending top wall of said inner cabinetproviding a plenum chamber, said oven door comprising a front panel, arear door plug panel and intermediate insulation retainer panel, saiddoor plug panel having a forwardly off-set peripheral flange, a doorframe member securing the edges of said door plug panel and said frontpanel in spaced relation defining a vertical air passagewaytherebetween, first sealing means bordering said door plug paneloperative to sealingly engage said inner throat flange upon closure ofsaid oven door, said off-set peripheral flange including aperturestherein bordering all four sides of said oven door vertical passage andcommunicating therewith, said off-set peripheral flange aligned inopposed spaced relation with said outer throat flange defining an upperconvection air flow channel together with lower and side room air inletflow spaced therebetween, a front cover panel positioned between theforward edge of said cooktop and the upper edge of said oven door framemember, second sealing means for sealing the gap between the lower edgeof said front cover panel and the upper edge of said door frame memberupon the closure of said oven door to prevent the exit of the heated airin said air flow channel through said gap, aperture means at the forwardend of said plenum chamber providing air flow communication between saidupper air flow channel and said plenum chamber, whereby room airentering said door vertical passage through said off-set flangeapertures moves upwardly therein by reason of a heated air chimneyeffect during an oven heatcleaning operation so as to flow into saidplenum chamber, heated air exhaust openings in said range communicatingwith said plenum chamber such that said door front panel and said outercabinet are maintained at reduced temperatures during the heat-cleaningoperation.

2. A domestic range having a heat-cleaning oven with an oven cavityformed by a box-like oven liner and an oven door, a box-like insulationretainer inner cabinet surrounding said oven liner and spaced therefrom,insulation in the space between said oven liner and said inner cabinetsurrounding said oven liner, a unitary stainless steel throat memberextending around the access opening of said oven cavity having adouble-L cross section, the inner L portion of said throat member havinga vertically extending inner throat flange providing an oven door jamb,the outer L portion of said throat member having a vertically extendingouter throat flange, an outer cabinet covering said inner cabinet andspaced therefrom including a cooktop supporting a plurality of surfaceheating units above vented openings therein, the space between saidcooktop and the horizontally extending top wall of said inner cabinetproviding a plenum chamber, said oven door comprising a front panel, arear door plug panel and intermediate insulation retainer panel, saiddoor plug panel havint a forwardly offset peripheral flangesubstantially co-planar with said door intermediate panel, a door framemember securing the edges of said door plug panel and said front panelin spaced relation defining a vertical air passageway therebetween,gasket means bordering said door plug panel operative to sealinglyengage said inner throat flange upon closure of said oven door, saidoff-set peripheral flange including a pattern of staggered elongatedslots formed therein bordering all four sides of said oven door verticalpassage and communicating therewith, said off-set peripheral flangealigned in opposed spaced relation with said outer throat flangedefining an upper heated air flow channel together with lower and sideair flow spaces therebetween, a front cover panel positioned between theforward edge of said cooktop and the upper edge of said oven door framemember, a flexible sealing strip on the lower edge of said front coverpanel operative to sealingly engage the upper edge of said door framemember upon the closure of said oven door, a stringer member coextensivewith said front cover panel the lower portion of which being secured tothe upper edge of said outer throat flange, aperture means in saidstringer member providing air flow communication between said upper airflow channel and said plenum chamber, whereby ambient air entering saiddoor vertical passage through said lower and side air flow spaces andtheir associated off-set flange slots moves upwardly therein by reasonof a heated air chimney effect into said upper air flow channel via theupper off-set flange slots and thence into said plenum chamber for exitthrough cooktop openings beneath said surface heating units such thatsaid door front panel and said outer cabinet are maintained at reducedtemperatures during the heat-cleaning operation.

3. A light-weight range construction comprising a free standing outercabinet including rear and side panels and a front cover panel, aKshaped base including a transverse floor angle support element adaptedto lie on the floor adjacent the rear edge of said range outer cabinet,said transverse floor angle having its base flange extending forwardlyfrom its upstanding flange, said upstanding flange having its endportions lanced and rearwardly bent forming rear securing tabs, saidK-shaped base including a pair of diagonal floor angle support elementsadapted to lie on the foot in a symmetrical fashion about thelongitudinal centerline of said range, each said diagonal angle havingone end secured to said transverse floor angle adjacent its midpoint,each said diagonal angle having its base flanges extending rearwardlyfrom its upstanding flange, the free ends of each said diagonal angleupstanding flange being lanced and forwardly bent forming a frontsecuring tab, each pair of respective front and rear tabs aligned in acommon longitudinal plane for securing engagement with return bendflanges along the bottom edges of their associated side panel, the frontedge of each of said side panels including vertically disposed returnbend trim flanges thereon, upper and lower vertically spaced stringermembers extending between said side panels having their ends secured torespective ones of said side panel trim flanges, means for supporting aheat-cleaning oven assembly between said upper and lower stringermembers, said oven assembly including an oven liner enclosed in spacedrelation by an inner insulation retainer cabinet, said oven supportmeans including a double-L shaped unitary stainless steel throat memberextending around the front access opening of said oven liner, saidthroat member having an inner L section portion and an outer L sectionportion, said outer L section portion having an outer throat flangeextending vertically so as to overlap in a secured manner associatedportions of said upper and lower stringers and said side panel frontedge return bend trim flange, and said inner L-section secured to saidoven liner access opening so as to support said liner in a cantileveredmanner within said inner casing to minimize the conductive heat flowbetween said oven assembly and said range outer casing.

1. A domestic range having a heat-cleaning oven with an oven cavityformed by a box-like oven liner and an oven door, a boxlike insulationretainer inner cabinet surrounding said oven liner and spaced therefrom,insulation in the space between said oven liner and said inner cabinetsurrounding said oven liner, a unitary stainless steel throat memberextending around the access opening of said oven cavity having adouble-L cross section, the inner L portion of said throat member havinga vertically extending inner throat flange providing an oven door jamb,the outer L portion of said throat member having a vertically extendingouter throat flange, an outer cabinet covering said inner cabinet andspaced therefrom including a cooktop supporting a plurality of surfaceheating units above aligned openings therein, the space between saidcooktop and the horizontally extending top wall of said inner cabinetproviding a plenum chamber, said oven door comprising a front panel, arear door plug panel and intermediate insulation retainer panel, saiddoor plug panel having a forwardly off-set peripheral flange, a doorframe member securing the edges of said door plug panel and said frontpanel in spaced relation defining a vertical air passagewaytherebetween, first sealing means bordering said door plug paneloperative to sealingly engage said inner throat flange upon closure ofsaid oven door, said off-set peripheral flange including aperturestherein bordering all four sides of said oven door vertical passage andcommunicating therewith, said off-set peripheral flange aligned inopposed spaced relation with said outer throat flange defining an upperconvection air flow channel together with lower and side room air inletflow spaces therebetween, a front cover panel positioned between theforward edge of said cooktop and the upper edge of said oven door framemember, second sealing means for sealing the gap between the lower edgeof said front cover panel and the upper edge of said door frame memberupon the closure of said oven door to prevent the exit of the heated airin said air flow channel through said gap, aperture means at the forwardend of said plenum chamber providing air flow communication between saidupper air flow channel and said plenum chamber, whereby room airentering said door vertical passage through said off-set flangEapertures moves upwardly therein by reason of a heated air chimneyeffect during an oven heat-cleaning operation so as to flow into saidplenum chamber, heated air exhaust openings in said range communicatingwith said plenum chamber such that said door front panel and said outercabinet are maintained at reduced temperatures during the heat-cleaningoperation.
 2. A domestic range having a heat-cleaning oven with an ovencavity formed by a box-like oven liner and an oven door, a box-likeinsulation retainer inner cabinet surrounding said oven liner and spacedtherefrom, insulation in the space between said oven liner and saidinner cabinet surrounding said oven liner, a unitary stainless steelthroat member extending around the access opening of said oven cavityhaving a double-L cross section, the inner L portion of said throatmember having a vertically extending inner throat flange providing anoven door jamb, the outer L portion of said throat member having avertically extending outer throat flange, an outer cabinet covering saidinner cabinet and spaced therefrom including a cooktop supporting aplurality of surface heating units above vented openings therein, thespace between said cooktop and the horizontally extending top wall ofsaid inner cabinet providing a plenum chamber, said oven door comprisinga front panel, a rear door plug panel and intermediate insulationretainer panel, said door plug panel havint a forwardly off-setperipheral flange substantially co-planar with said door intermediatepanel, a door frame member securing the edges of said door plug paneland said front panel in spaced relation defining a vertical airpassageway therebetween, gasket means bordering said door plug paneloperative to sealingly engage said inner throat flange upon closure ofsaid oven door, said off-set peripheral flange including a pattern ofstaggered elongated slots formed therein bordering all four sides ofsaid oven door vertical passage and communicating therewith, saidoff-set peripheral flange aligned in opposed spaced relation with saidouter throat flange defining an upper heated air flow channel togetherwith lower and side air flow spaces therebetween, a front cover panelpositioned between the forward edge of said cooktop and the upper edgeof said oven door frame member, a flexible sealing strip on the loweredge of said front cover panel operative to sealingly engage the upperedge of said door frame member upon the closure of said oven door, astringer member coextensive with said front cover panel the lowerportion of which being secured to the upper edge of said outer throatflange, aperture means in said stringer member providing air flowcommunication between said upper air flow channel and said plenumchamber, whereby ambient air entering said door vertical passage throughsaid lower and side air flow spaces and their associated off-set flangeslots moves upwardly therein by reason of a heated air chimney effectinto said upper air flow channel via the upper off-set flange slots andthence into said plenum chamber for exit through cooktop openingsbeneath said surface heating units such that said door front panel andsaid outer cabinet are maintained at reduced temperatures during theheat-cleaning operation.
 3. A light-weight range construction comprisinga free standing outer cabinet including rear and side panels and a frontcover panel, a K-shaped base including a transverse floor angle supportelement adapted to lie on the floor adjacent the rear edge of said rangeouter cabinet, said transverse floor angle having its base flangeextending forwardly from its upstanding flange, said upstanding flangehaving its end portions lanced and rearwardly bent forming rear securingtabs, said K-shaped base including a pair of diagonal floor anglesupport elements adapted to lie on the foor in a symmetrical fashionabout the longitudinal centerline of said range, each said diagonalangle having one end secured to said transverse floor angle adJacent itsmidpoint, each said diagonal angle having its base flanges extendingrearwardly from its upstanding flange, the free ends of each saiddiagonal angle upstanding flange being lanced and forwardly bent forminga front securing tab, each pair of respective front and rear tabsaligned in a common longitudinal plane for securing engagement withreturn bend flanges along the bottom edges of their associated sidepanel, the front edge of each of said side panels including verticallydisposed return bend trim flanges thereon, upper and lower verticallyspaced stringer members extending between said side panels having theirends secured to respective ones of said side panel trim flanges, meansfor supporting a heat-cleaning oven assembly between said upper andlower stringer members, said oven assembly including an oven linerenclosed in spaced relation by an inner insulation retainer cabinet,said oven support means including a double-L shaped unitary stainlesssteel throat member extending around the front access opening of saidoven liner, said throat member having an inner L section portion and anouter L section portion, said outer L section portion having an outerthroat flange extending vertically so as to overlap in a secured mannerassociated portions of said upper and lower stringers and said sidepanel front edge return bend trim flange, and said inner L-sectionsecured to said oven liner access opening so as to support said liner ina cantilevered manner within said inner casing to minimize theconductive heat flow between said oven assembly and said range outercasing.